ELL - Phase One
California - North America Covering almost 158,700 square miles, the Golden State contains everything from redwood and sequoia forests in the north, to the fertile Central Valley, to the deserts of the south and east. A land of contrasts, the lush beauty of forested national parks such as Redwood and Yosemite are matched by the harsh beauty of the Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks. The coast, too, varies from waves dashing themselves at the foot of the rocky cliffs in the north to gentle swells lapping the sandy beaches in Southern California. The state is not only one of the most beautiful, but is also the most populous in the United States, concentrated mostly in major cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. "... and that is how we're going to take over the Nuclear Power Plant Facility. Any questions? Good. Keep them to yourself." Onslaught immediately looks at Blast Off as he finishes up the longwinded explanation that was probably at least a few hours long. This is all happening about a block or two away from the Nuclear Power Plant that is only semi-guarded at the moment because it is night time and who ever wants to rob or whatever a nuclear power plant. That's stupid. Anyway, Onslaught stands up nice and tall. "Alright, Combaticons." He looks over his shoulder to see if there's any Non-Combaticons around. "And Tagalongcons." He rolls his optics. "Let's go steal us a Nuclear Power Plant..." And with that, Onslaught leads the Imperial March off towards the Power Plant. Meanwhile... "Hey Fred. You think anything insane is going to happen tonight?" "Relax, Barn. Does anything ever?" "Ah, I guess you're right, Fred." "I'm always right." The two Bedrockian guards that are seated in the booth right at the gate of this place raise their coffee mugs to toast each other. Insert Sudden Laser Fire!! Lasers? Pfff. Laser were old tech. Classic, sure, but just shooting stuff wasn't going to get the matter handled. But that's why Swindle is here. The Combaticon munitioner hefts a weapon onto his shoulder, turning it upwards slightly as the end of the muzzle opens up into a set of conductive array panels. "You guys may want to hold back for," he holds up one hand and ticks off his fingers one by one. "4... 3... 2... 1!" Sparks crackle between the conductor panels, and then a bolt of polarized electricity erupts from the weapon with enough force that it knocks Swindle back on his aft. The bolt hits the side of the building and sends sparks crackling off in multiple directions as it shorts out whatever external defenses the plant complex may of had. The scrambler falls into Swindle's lap as he rubs the side of his helm with one hand. "Remind me to put a recoil warning label on these before I get sued..." Space Shuttle rockets in over the Power Plant. The shuttle probably gets here before most of the others, given his speed. The shuttle is also not looking quite as polished and clean as he usually is- in fact he's looking rather scruffy and dull. Not being allowed to bathe after being forced to clean up after Apeface and Snapdragon makes for a Combaticon in a foul mood, so he doesn't waste any time or energy on words. He simply gets to the point- with laserfire. Galvatron himself publicly punished the fastidious shuttle with these filthy chores- chores that will continue "until he proves himself". Here's hoping he can "prove himself" tonight.... he swoops down for a strafing round of laser fire from his nosecone on the power plant below. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) A thin trail of dust heralds the approach of James Bailey on his EDC-issued motorcycle. He races into the area, his finger straying over the big red switch on his handlebars. Decepticons in California?! James hasn't scrambled for a good old-fashioned raid in what seems like years. He can only hope he remembers some of the old tricks of the trade... Earth was, for a long while, plagued by Decepticons attacking major power stations for energon cubes. As such, it is not uncommon for most facilities to have numerous alarms to sound of as soon as one of those SHTF scenarios kick off. Though, with the relative absence of an aggressive Con presence, some things tend to lapse. So, the alarm is a little delayed in going out. Almost when someone probably yelled 'Oh, hey! I should also hit that button over there!' Still, a lapse in humanity's own security does not constitute a lapse on the part of the overactive Sky Lynx. He had been touring over Roswell, chasing down a false UFO sighting (Cosmos is obviously to blame here) when something caught his sensors. It was a simple affair after that to pick up some quick reinforcements and burn atmosphere to get to the scene of chaos. The massive bot surveys the situation as he draws nearer. << ETA is shortly. Stand by and mind the civilians! There are numerous hits on the scanners, and radio traffic is indicating local authorities may be on their way as well. >> The troop-door on the side of his big blue box slides open in anticipation. << And remember! If things get too hot, just yell and I'll deal with it accordingly. >> Sirens can be heard within moments of the laser fire at the Nuclear Power Plant. Some of it is in and around the facilitiy itself, and others are far off, as the local police, fire, and ambulance service respond. All sites deemed potential targets of the Decepticons are well drilled in what to do in the event of enemy attack. The facility's evacuation procedure commences, though unlike most fire drill type scenarios, this one is pretty obviously the real deal. A wide perimeter around the facility is currently being cordoned off by the police to ensure nobody unauthorized gets in while Earth Defence Command and the United States Air Force begins to scramble jet fighters. One of the ambulances racing towards the scene only slows down long enough for the officers to spot the Autobot insignia on his front hood and the massive double barreled decrystallizer cannon on his roof. <> Even after half a century, some things still never change. The Autobots are still alerted to the presence of a Decepticon attack thanks to the timely alerts of Skyspy and distress calls from the human site that's under attack. Fortress Maximus rides into the scene on board Sky Lynx, he's secured over the open boarding hatch and looking over the opening to survey the situation beneath him, "Combaticons. The whole lot of them this time too. We're going have to be extra careful, Onslaught's always been good at springing unexpected surprises on us. I'll follow your lead from here on out, Sky Lynx, your experience far outpaces mine if Bruticus makes an appearance." Fortress Maximus drops out of Sky Lynx as soon as he determines that the altitude is low enough for him to safely drop down and not damage the infrastructures below, << Thanks for the ride, Sky Lynx, looks like this is my stop! >> ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Black Hawk Helicopter approaches from around a nearby cloud, destroying it and swirling it apart with some satisfaction and swoops down to follow behind Blast Off's flight path and narrow his sights on the building's front door, approaching it with riddling chainfire to weaken the structure before coming to a hover and transforming to slice across one way then the other in an X and kicking it in like tin foil while humans ping their metal bullets off his skin, making his wave his hands around as if shooing away tiny insecticon gnats. "THE WAY IS OPEN!" Black Hawk Helicopter transforms into his Vortex mode. Onslaught leads the way with his huge Sonic Stun Gun in hand. When Swindle's awesome weapon takes out whatever shenanigans will be protecting a Power Plant (not much), Onslaught offers a smile of sorts. "Clockwork." Within moments, his huge self is leaning in down to peer into the guard station. "Your services are no longer required." Fred stands up, reaching for his gun. "Now wait just a seco--" Barney's hand touches Fred's shoulder. "Hey uh, Fred?" "Not now, Barn!" "Fred, you gotta' look at this." "What is iiiiiiiiiii....t?" It would be at this point that Fred sees the Sonic Stun Gun pointing through the window at them. "I see. Barn?" "Yeah, Fred?" "Run." And they're off! Onslaught looks up and around at his Combaticons. "Form up, Combaticons. We have Autobot arrival. Swindle? You know what to do. Everyone else? Scrap 'em." Swindle gets up, shaking off some dust and straightening his bolo-tie. "Of course, Onslaught, of course." He picks up the scrambler and slings it over his back, and heads into the plant. As he passes he flips an ener-chip with his fingers to Vortex. "Tip for the doorman. Be a good fellow and make sure our way out remains clear." Vortex growls enthusiastically, "You bet!" He runs back out to nearest fence gate, reaches behind his back for his blades and readies them out waiting for the Autobots. Space Shuttle watches his shots hit their mark (of course), then circles back up for another strafing run. He's sticking to the air, thankyouverymuch. Sticking to his strengths: speed, shooting and sky. His sensors begin to pick up incoming enemies. Hmmm... figures a Protectobot would try to show up and interfere. His sensors also pick up Sky Lynx. At another time and place, he might strike up a conversation with the fellow space shuttle. Not this time, however. James Bailey (who Blast Off last saw moderating his Olympic battle with Slag) is also somewhere down there, too, but at the moment Blast Off doesn't really notice him- he just looks like yet another insignificant fleshling. Hearing Onslaught's orders to attack the Autobots, he swings back around to face them- when Fort Max shows up. Now the shuttle is still sore over their recent encounter- Fort Max is the one who rescued an unconcious Blurr, not only saving him from Blast Off but taking the information the Autobots had stolen from the Cons, too- and Blast Off has been facing the consequences for "letting" them escape. There's a growl of engines and the shuttle speeds right for the huge Autobot- time for a little cathartic payback. He speeds by as fast as he can, trying to stay out of range as he lets loose a high-level orbital bombardment for the 'Bot's head. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Sky Lynx banks sharply once he's absent of passengers. << I'll handle the big uglies outdoors. Emergency crews will need all the assistance they can get, though. Or first concern needs to be ensuring that the populace is safe. >> His optics glint as they watch some of the workers flee. << From Decepticons and nuclear disaster alike. Mind what you are shooting at, and where you are shooting. >> Lynx folds his wings in as engines burn through the sky, leaving a black-smoke contrail behind him. The sentiment towards Blast Off is quite shared. Another time, another place... but for now? Enemies. He arranges nothing short of a fly-by to rattle the Decepticon shuttle before turning his attention to Onslaught. "What's this? Were the Decepticons feeling nostalgic?" He throws a quick laser-shot towards the Combaticon leader. "Come now... you can't have possibly thought it would be as easy as it was before I returned to the roster." Ambulance spies a cloud being annihilated by none other than the Combaticon ace of the air, Vortex. The racing Autobot watches as he blows a hole in the structure before smashing it down with a single mighty kick. The Protectobot flips up into robot mode and uses a cooling tower for cover, peeking around it long enough to fire a photon blast at Vortex's back. He opens up a channel to the Combaticon in order to mock him. He starts off with a Yo Creation Factory remark and then moves onto insulting Vortex's position within the Combaticons. The Autobot doctor then, while hopefully safe behind the cooling tower, takes it to the next level. "HEY VORTEX!" First Aid shouts, "I looked up your Tech Specs and next to Intelligence it just said 'No'!" Ambulance flips up into robot mode. Fortress Maximus lands onto the ground with a dull crunch, and prowls his way across the facility and towards the direction of the breached opening of the nuclear power plant. He puts his back against the wall of a guard tower, and then leans through the corner with his fusion powered photon rifle readied, the tip of his weapon's barrel sweeps across the area as it follows the direction of which his visored optics is surveying, << No sight of the Combaticons yet. I'll have Galen send in the drones into the facility and scout out the area in detail. >> Fortress Maximus then begins moving out of his cover. Bad idea! His receptors catches wind of Blast Off's distinctive engines in the distance, prompting him to look up! This action saved him from taking a fatal shot to the head, but it wasn't enough to put him out of danger! Blast Off's well placed shot drills right into the middle of his chest, melting armour and frying circuitry underneath, sending Fortress Maximus falling back and onto the ground, "Grah!" The Autobot Headmaster commander dental clenches in pain, the damage he's sustained has mucked with his ability to make precise shots so he holds down on the trigger on his rifle instead, spraying the air with yellow beams of weapons fire! Vortex takes an unprotected shot to the back, since his blades were in his hands and falls over with a metallic crunch before he rolls over and stands back up to look around for the offending party, answering back to First Aid over the radio about the analogous nature of a white ambulance making white noise. Vortex puts his blades away behind his back and instead raises his glue gun at the cloosing tower--he's got NO problem about making sure First Aid sticks around since it seems he's in a mood to talk. Motorcycle pops a quick wheelie before veering off to the side and circling around the outskirts of the plant. He selects a tiny ramp leading down to a parking garage for his entrance, then disappears out of sight. The sounds of transformation echo out of the structure and soon an armored form can be seen through windows (and holes in the walls) moving towards the worker. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Onslaught was too busy sparing the lives of Fred and Barney to notice Sky Lynx's arrival. Okay, that's a lie. He was just choosing to ignore it. Sadly, though, he cannot ignore the laser shot that sizzles right against his armor. Onslaught looks down at the burn mark and then back up to Sky Lynx, activating the most innocent of vocal ranges he can muster up in such short time. "And you are who again?" With that said, Onslaught pushes away from the guard station, strafing and hurling shots off in the general direction of Sky Lynx from the SONIC STUN GUN. "Most of you look the same, I'm afraid. Might I suggest name tags?" Onslaught smirks a bit beneath his faceplate."Hi. My Name Is... It Doesn't Matter Because I'm Dead." Oh, Onslaught's Longwinded Insult Banter Begins. Meanwhile, Fred and Barney dive into the windows of their Orange Dodge Charger and peace all the way out. Caution tape be damned. Space Shuttle is quite pleased to see his attack hit Fortress Maximus, though it would have been more satisfying if it had destroyed the head as planned. As Blast Off hurtles out of there, the now impeded Autobot takes several shots but they miss the speedy shuttle. Unfortunately, while the Combaticon is busy with Fort Max, he doesn't notice Sky Lynx coming at him until it is almost too late, and has to shift his elevons- HARD- and twist to avoid the Autobot, which sends the Con shuttle careening downwards. He has to pull up hard again in order to gain control just in time to avoid a collison with one of the reactors. A wing tip juuust touches the wall of the reactor with a "ding!" as he pulls away. <> He radios, then zips back around to target Fort Max again. He is NOT going to let the huge 'Bot ruin his day again. Lifting high into the air this time, the shuttle becomes a brown and purple speck as he unleashes another big bomb drop. "Sounds like everyone is getting into it like usual." Swindle is mostly musing to himself as he kicks a few human chairs out of the way and sits at one of the machinery terminals. "Now let's see here..." ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Sky Lynx says, "Who am I? Someone not as forgetful as you, it seems." He grunts and shifts hard to the right as the blast from Onslaught's cannon catches a wing. Well, that's not good... Functionality drops like a rock when only half of your flight controls are working as intended. He rolls towards the ground and slams down onto all fours, recovering with a soft growl before straightening up to flaunt his size. "Challenge dutifully accepted." << Autobots, keep status reports flowing. You as well, Colonel. I don't want to miss anything due to a lapse in communications. >> "As for you... I must admit, I do enjoy coming up against bite-sized foes." He charges towards Onslaught, taking the fight close-range as he leans down, aiming a nice, hefty crunch of a bite at the Con." First Aid scores a direct hit on Vortex. Even better, the Combaticon is now coming after him instead of doing whatever it is that he's presumably supposed to be doing. The doctor tries to duck around the cooling tower as Vortex charges, but the ultra-sticky glue splatters against the cement. Unable to jerk his arm away in time, First Aid finds his right hand--photon pistol still grasped within it--glued to the tower call. "Ugh!" First Aid yanks as hard as he can, but the thing is solidifying already. With one hand pinned to the tower, First Aid glares at Vortex as if he wasn't in serious trouble. "So when is Onslaught going to let you have a /real/ gun?" He begins charging up the surgical lasers in his free hand, but this will take a couple moments. Only a Protectobot would consider 'have him beat me up instead of hurting the humans' a good plan. Armor follows a few of the remaining humans to the exits, then turns back towards the complex. He moves through the interior once more, readying a large (for a human anyway) rifle and peering through each opening to see if any Decepticons are visible. Fortress Maximus lays on the ground painfully, his unsteady arms doing very little to help with his aim against his target! Things goes from bad to worst though as he watches Blast Off swoop in... with a bomb?! He jaw drops in alarm, "Blast Off, I would have thought you'd be smarter than this. Dropping a bombs on a nuclear power plant, do you have a death wish?!" *** CLINK *** Fortress Maximus' leg mortar launchers slides out and several volleys of mortar rounds are lobbed into the air straight in the direction of the incoming Decepticon shuttle! ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Vortex approaches First Aid, noting to the doctor, "Don't underestimate the gluegun. It's a toy for sure but it's a lot of fun to use. Staying glued in place, your threatening knife or no knife, this really... really is a tempting moment for torture and experimenting with cerebral hacking--mind you I've not had the success in doing it that Shockwave does--but it's the TRYING that is the most fun. I'm sure you can understand that as a professional tinkerer in your own right, Doctor." He almost chuckles out his last word as he approaches, pulling out a sword from his back and tapping it under First Aid's chin. His moment interrupted with a radio call from Blast Off asking him how he's holding up--reminding him that he's in the middle of a battle, "OH! Doing just fine. I think I might have something to keep me occupied while the operation is in progress unless anyone else needs me to help out." Onslaught is all about the up close and personal. He likes to consider his strength to be something of legend and now he's going to get the chance to prove it against Sky Lynx! He's not exactly afraid or anything but he sure as heck isn't ready for this big ugly bot to do anything like bite him! As those jaws open up, Onslaught swings his big free arm up to catch the bite on it. Onslaught winces as he takes the pain. "<> With those words hurled into the radio, Onslaught returns his attention to Sky Lynx and brings that SONIC STUN GUN back up towards the chin of Sky Lynx. And then... "BLAST OFF WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU FOOL!" Onslaught actually forgets to pull the trigger on the SONIC STUN GUN when his optics catch sight of the bombs. Swindle puts the sounds of the fighting outside out of his mind. Which isn't hard to do, considering he'd rather be in here doing what he does instead of out there getting shot at, after all. He eyes over the console, wiggling his metal digits in the air in anticipation. "Tch. A model X-42-Theta control terminal. Reliable but considerably outdated." He starts typing across the keypads, working his way through the assorted security locks. <> he replies over the radio calmly. <> Space Shuttle just avoids the shots again, and responds, "I am quite confident in my aiming skills, Maximus... but if it concerns you so, the manner of your death hardly matters to me..." Weapons systems shift and laser cannons are locked in place instead. He doesn't want to admit it, but Fort Max has a point. In his zealousness not to fail again, Blast Off's strongest attack seemed the right choice. But Onslaught's radio message confirms that that was a bad idea, after all. There's a small, frustrated huff, and the shuttle circles back down towards the huge 'Bot. When he's DEFINITELY close enough that the laserfire will not strike anywhere NEAR a reactor, he fires at Fort Max's leg launchers. Perhaps he can cripple the Autobot and his weaponry in one blow? Meanwhile, he scans the area around them, then radios back to Vortex: <> ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) There is one thing you never, ever do... and that is give Lynx an opening. He had anticipated the blast, but when Onslaught forgets to pull the trigger? He's thrilled. For Onslaught? Things might be heating up very, very quickly as the acetylene torch housed in his maw churns up some hellfire for the wicked. << Did we catch the bomb? And where is Swindle? >> Lynx releases Onslaught as soon as the blast is unleashed... because it makes it far more dramatic that way. "You taste horrible! Like something wallowing in the Cybertronian swamps. Hmph. Ready to admit you are outclassed, Onslaught? Or shall I start removing limbs?" First Aid stares at Vortex even as the Combaticon makes his approach. He's struggling against the glue, but is also trying to make it look like he /isn't/ struggling. Finally Vortex is right there in front of him, and First Aid twists away from the sword to avoid it being right under his chin. "You only seem to be able to deal with victims who can't fight back..." he retorts. He can't move very far with his hand pinned, though. While Vortex is momentarily distracted by a chit chat with Blast Off, First Aid raises his knee and grabs something from his trunk. It's a transparent pack of medical solvent, which he dashes onto his pinned hand. There's a loud fizzling noise as the glue burns away. A split second later, and First Aid is trying to karate kick Vortex! "...fortunately for me, I can!" Fortress Maximus feels the anger building inside of him over Blast Off's seemingly indifference towards causing collateral damage. He's going have to put Blast Off down to the ground somehow, and so the Headmaster commander put his own safety on the line to gamble on a chance to strike at the zippy Decepticon shuttle! He stands firm, making himself an irresistable stationary target for Blast Off to line up a shot on. *** BZZT *** Blast Off's shot strikes his right leg, disabling the mortar launcher held within, and thus giving him the opening he needs to unfold both of his waist mounted ion pulse cannons and he attempts to place an aimed shot towards Blast Off in an attempt to fry some of the Combaticon's circuitry! Armor finally ends up positioning himself in front a 2nd-floor window, pointing his rifle out at the fighting outside. He tries to zoom in on Vortex but can't get a clean shot - First Aid is crowding his line of fire just enough that Bailey can't risk firing. He's shifting aim towards the next target when suddenly hears something from -inside- the plant. Turning back he jets through a hallway before entering the room Swindle is in. James stares for a moment, and then raises the battle rifle to point at the Decepticon. "Step away from the console," he says, voice amplified by his suits external speakers to echo through the room. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Onslaught is in the middle of fistshaking and such in the direction of his Shuttle... when he realizes that his arm is burning. His optics go wide and the backs up with speed, stumbling over whatever is behind him and flails his arm around, wincing in the pain that has been caused upon him by the likes of Sky Lynx's Maw of Pain. "You will pay dearly for that." Onslaught raises the SONIC STUN GUN as if to shoot at Sky Lynx, but once again does not pull the trigger. "Blast Off! Vortex!" Onslaught flips backwards and down, transforming with epic ease and squeals his tires as he starts off in a random direction... away from Sky Lynx. "IT IS TIME TO END THIS!" That is right. Perhaps it is time to take things to a more BRUTAL level. <> Oh yeah, he's also launching Photon Missiles back in Sky Lynx's direction. INCOMING! Cybertronian Reformatting Sequence Initiated Variable Guise Access Code: 86035 MRBM Missile Trailer, Moving Mayhem! Vortex looks back up again at First Aid after his distracted conversation JUST finishes, long enough for the solvent to do its work, "As I... said.. wat??" With a ringing metallic crash, he's impacted with a kick to the chest and sent crashes back against fencing and stumbling awkwardly, causing immense damage to the human structures as he tries to regain balance... JUST managing to eventually stand up after a strange and surprisingly long fight with regain that balance. Vortex's only real victory here was all the damage he's caused stumbling and swinging his sword around in front to shift his balance, even if it did look awkard! "Fine fine.. we'll fight. I'll try not to ruin those good looks..." for a second, he holds still, then explodes into laughter before jumping into the air with both hands on his blade in a feat of dramatic blade striking assult and unnecessarily loud noise and a strong swing of his blade. Swindle glances up for a moment when someone finally speaks up behind him. Oh look, it's one of those humans in their fancy battle suits. He cants his head a bit, optics rolling up thoughtfully. "Let me think about it for a moment...." And then turns back to the console. He's just about to punch in another command when the comment over the radio comes. "... Actually, maybe I will. But first!" Swindle extends a single finger and presses it down on the big red button every console like this has, especially if they were made for the 80s. Then looks at his other wrist as if checking a watch. "I'd say there's about, oh, ten minutes or so before the cooling systems shut down entirely. Have fun dealing with that." With that he turns and runs to rejoin the other Combaticons. Actually he didn't turn a thing off, but he figures it's going to take a few minutes for the human to actually check the controls to see that he's bluffing, giving him long enough to get back outside. Because Swindle is a coniving little jerk like that. Space Shuttle is probably taking more chances than usual. He's usually the cautious one when it comes to careful aiming and shooting (one reason he can't stand Triggerhappy)... but he's got a lot riding on his success or failure right now. And the appearance of precision is as important as precision right now, apparently. he KNOWS he's good enough to shoot from quite a distance without damaging the reactions, but no one else seems to. Pfft. So Fort Max's gamble pays off. The shuttle sees an easy mark and takes it, but it leaves him a little too close to those ion pulse cannons that suddenly came out of "nowhere". WHAM! The shuttle gets hit and his systems go haywire, sending him into another spiral downwards. This time he's so close to the ground anyway he can't pull up in time- but at least he doesn't go ramming into a reactor. THUD into the ground. He transforms, dented and cracked, shaking his head and stablizing again, when he gets another radio message from Onslaught. The Combaticon looks up to the much larger Fort Max, still with an arrogant look on his face. "You like trying to swat me down? Well... you are the one about to be swatted, Autofool!" He heads quickly into the sky, in the direction of Onslaught and the others... Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Sky Lynx growls loudly, not at the fact Onslaught is running away, or even that a missile was lobbed his way... but more because he can't dodge it or it risks hitting the powerplant! He rears up and swats the missile with his tail, bits of solar panelling flaking off as the thinner part of it splinters. "That was a grievous error on your part, you overgrown excuse for a people-mover!" He takes a quick stock of everything around him. << How are we looking out there? What's going on inside the plant? >> He fires off a quick laser-shot at Blast Off. "Stay grounded..." The moment after he smacks Vortex, First Aid is back on his feet and backing the heck up. Despite being freed from the cooling tower, the glue from Vortex's gun has ruined his photon pistol. He shoves the useless weapon back into subspace and watches as Vortex knocks over buildings. He knows the status of the evacuation, so he isn't concerned about potential loss of life. The Combaticon lunges at him just as he fires a powerful surgical laser blast from his left fist. Whether or not the surgical blast hits doesn't matter, because Vortex has momentum and the blade hacks into Aid's right shoulder, causing the Protectobot to stumble and trip over the facility's outer fence. His torso and arm have blue electrical sparks shooting all over them, suggesting significant damage. Armor nearly squeezes off a shot after Swindle...but the Combaticon's bluff pays off, and James runs instead for the console. He's shouting frantically for EDC Tech Support in between reporting the situation to the other Autobots in between looking for a way to plug his armor's computer system into the consoles. "Memo to all Earth Construction Companies," he dictates once he's finally got a moment. "No more big red buttons." First Aid, while still on the ground, manages to awkwardly roll over onto his front and transform into ambulance mode. His tires chug over the fallen fence as he makes his way towards the parimeter where the cops and other officials are waiting. Vortex won't know why, but it's because Aid has been ordered out to help coordinate the radiation containment teams. If this reactor goes up, the entire State is soon going to be in a state of emergency. Fortress Maximus attempts to follow up on his success against his Combaticon by going in for a close up strike with his sword, but his right leg refuses to function, surprising him! Looks like Blast Off not only managed to disable his right leg's mortar launchers but he also mentioned to temporarily paralyze his limb in the process too, << Blast it! They're moving in for the merge! The power plant won't be left standing at this rate if Bruticus shows up! >> Storms of bullets follows Blast Off, the hailstorm of lead originates from the machine gun battery mounted on Fortress Maximus' outstretched left arm, "Don't think I'll let you off that easily, Combaticon!" Meanwhile inside the facility, Gasket and Grommet drives over to the reactor. Galen's voice can be heard broadcasting from Grommet's speakers, << What can we do to help stop a meltdown from happening? >> ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Hahaha, that will keep the human distracted trying to figure out if he actually did do something or not, Swindle figures. One less enemy to deal with for a few minutes. Swindle comes jogging out to stand just in front of Onslaught and slightly to the side, settling into a prepatory pose. "In position and ready, boss." Blast Off heads towards the other Combaticons, but not before getting a little "heat" sent his way. This time, he does see Lynx's attack coming, and makes a sharp lunge to the right with the aid of the rockets flaring out from his feet. "You'll need to do better than that, Sky Lynx... MUCH better." Then Fort Max adds his own barrage of bullets, and Blast Off isn't quite as lucky there. He twists in the air and avoids most of them, but with that many coming at him he finds it impossible to evade them all- at this close range. There's a metallic pinging as fresh tears rip across his torso. "And we won't let YOU off easy, Fortress Maximus. The part of Bruticus that is ME will certainly remember our recent times together!" The Combaticon staggers mid-air slightly, but maintains course and keeps flying. There's a scruffy flash of purple and brown as he flies in towards his teammates, transforming into something... arm-like. Vortex steps aside in some surprise as the ambulance scurries off, "Running off already? But the dance was just starting! Why doesn't anybody ever wanna dance?" he chuckles ironically. He runs over to his team as he gets into position to join alongside them. Vortex transforms into his Black Hawk Helicopter mode. Onslaught transforms back into his classic robot mode and stands right there at the ready, hands on his hips and everything. There's a quick, "You're late." said to the random tank that is suddenly in the scene and transforming. In the background. But anyway, Onslaught stands tall and proud near the rest of his Combaticons, looking out at the minimal Autobots that have gathered... TO DIE. "I love it when a plan comes together." That statement sets in motion the awesome Combiner Transformation Sequence until, the one, the only, the monstrosity of destruction... BRUTICUS!!! Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. "BRUTICUS SMASH!" Yeah. Game Over. Last chance to run, AutoFOOLS. Cybertronian Reformatting Sequence Initiated Variable Guise Access Code: 74460 Onslaught, Combaticon Commander! Combat: Onslaught summons the Combaticons to form BRUTICUS! ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Fortress Maximus' limp eventually fades away as his auto-repair systems reroutes power from the damaged circuitry to a secondary path and returns him the freedom of motion once more. Pity it's a few precious seconds too late, because now the Autobot Headmaster commander is watching a behemoth, that's even bigger than Sky Lynx, now looming over him and the nuclear power plant! "Hey! Big and ugly! If your goal here was to steal energon from this facility, you're definitely going about it the wrong way by shelf the brain and unpacking the brawn instead!" Fortress Maximus taunts as he slaps a fresh coolant pack into his photon rifle and takes aim at Bruticus' left knee joint before firing off a few shots while running away from the direction of the power plant. Sky Lynx has no time to lament his tail being thrashed. It was for the greater good... He pushes off the ground and there's the sound of rather loud mechanisms releasing. Feet are quick to strike the ground and scramble while engines burn the air again, the two components of Lynx's namesake parting ways. "Hah! Three on one, this hardly seems fair for Bruticus," the bird-half taunts. He dives in, strafing the ground with laser fire while his counterpart...self...other-half dives in to go for a hamstring with its razor-sharp claws, roaring because cats always do that stuff, especially mechanical cats. Sky Lynx transforms, his body separating into two. The top half retains his bird-like trademark shape, but his lower half sprouts a head and takes to the ground in Lynx form. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Bruticus IS HERE!!! The terrifying, immense form of the the huge gestalt comes together with a deep roar that shakes the walls of the power plant. "BRUTICUS AWAKE! BRUTICUS ANGRY!!!" Optics flash as they behold the puny Autobots that don't know how to admit they are defeated BY BRUTICUS' MERE PRESENCE. "HA HA HA!!! AUTBOTS THINK THEY SMART!!! GIVE BRUTICUS ADVICE! BRUTICUS DOESN'T NEED ADVICE FROM PUNY AUTOBOTS!!!!" The hug 'Con takes a big, menacing step towards Fort Max- then suddenly stops, looming. "HA HA HA! JOKE ON YOU!!! BRUTICUS WON ALREADY!" With that- Bruticus lauches himself into the air and flies away! ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Dinobird & Lynx watches as the brute leaps up into the air, holding back from outright pursuit. "I don't like this..." He drops down to rejoin two forms into one and looks around. "What is the status on the cooling systems? We do not want a meltdown to transpire at all." He starts for the reactor and sticks his head through the door. "Colonel! How are we looking down there?! I would advise a swift resolution to the situation!" He looks back over his shoulder. << What about your team? How are we looking on providing a solution? >> No matter how big you are, it's always a humbling sight to have a gestalt loom over you, vocalizer volume at full blast with the raw physical power behind to back it up. Even Fortress Maximus chooses to act cautiously in the face of the overwhelming danger that Bruticus presents. He continues to fire off well placed shots at the giant behemoth in front of him, but no matter how powerful his fusion powered photon rifle is, it's but a paultry distraction not worth noticing against the massively armoured giant warrior. The Headmaster commander eventually finds himself in the open, with no cover in sight, and an angry gestalt taking a big menacing step towards him! Looks like this is the end for the big guy! Yet suddenly the unlikely thing happens, Bruticus taunts Fortress Maximus and then simply flies away after announcing his cryptic victory. Dumb founded momentarily, Fortress maximus quickly keys into his communicator, his attentions quickly falling back to power plant itself. Pity he's too far away to do much now.